Common Questions About My House

Now that I have almost a year of blogging under my belt, I thought it was high time I answer some of the common questions I get about our house.

Is your house really huge?

Well, that’s all relative isn’t it? For this area, it’s a decent size. If you live in the South, it’s probably tiny to you. Our total square footage is 1,776 sq ft. When you count the basement it is just under 2000. It’s more space than we need but it’s not unmanageable.

From the outside, in the summer

How many bathrooms do you have?

Two and a half. We totally don’t need all of them, but it is really nice to have the powder room for guests and two full baths to switch between while we are doing renovations 😉 We have four bedrooms [all but the master are pretty small] too.

Our fancy new master bathroom

Pretty purple powder room

Did you want to buy a fixer-upper?

Yes. We looked at many “done” houses. Some we really liked. But the only ones we seriously thought about were ones that we could add value to. And the only houses we contemplated putting an offer on were seriously in need of renovations. We just liked the idea of adding sweat equity to a  house and making it our own. It really helps that we have a ton of handy men and professional contractors/builders in the family. Amazing advice and support is a phone call or text away.

The ready to gut kitchen

When we say we gutted the kitchen, we mean we gutted it. And this is before the floor came up

What are you going to do with that carpeted room?

Well, it’s nice to have a second sitting room for when we host Bible study or other things like that. If we have children I envision it being a playroom, with huge bookcases to store toys and books.

What’s your favorite project so far?

This changes with every project. Our kitchen was the biggest project we did, but it was so fundamental to us even buying the house, I can’t count it. I think our bathroom was the hugest transformation – from a room I despised to a room I love. I’ll go with that but it’s a tie with the master closet. Andy probably has a different opinion!

Not going to miss an opportunity to post a picture of my closet

What’s the next project on your list?

Ha – that changes daily. We are probably going to work on getting some artwork on the walls. The pink bathroom is the only major eyesore left. But we also want to redo the basement to make the most of the space. Stay tuned!

Grandma’s China, Home at Last

I have an announcement.

I’ve been out of college for more than five years.

We’ve been married for more than four.

And we finally, finally, no longer have boxes stored in our parents basements and/or attics.

Huzzah!

A few weekends ago my mom came to visit and she brought the last of our unclaimed property. It was four boxes of extraordinarily well wrapped china.

[don’t be jealous now of my wood-paneled  basement]

My dad’s mom, Grandma Marge, died when I was a freshman in high school. I don’t remember if it was before or after she died that I was given one of her sets of china.

You see, the elder women in my family [probably just like every matriarch in every family] have ridiculous amounts of china. Multiple sets. My own mother has a minimum of 47 sets, or so it seems like. Most of them are passed down and each woman gets her own set or sets and the collection grows.

I did not register for fine china when I got married. Can you serve enchiladas or BBQ pork on hand wash only dishes? Negative. But I also knew that I had this set waiting for me, whenever I had the cupboard space to store it. Years passed by and I forgot I had the china.

When my mom brought the four [yes four, tons of wrapping paper] boxes of china I immediately put them in the basement. But then I realized, that is stupid. I have several empty shelves in my cabinets. And what is more perfectly suited to be on those top shelves than delicate china? Nothing.

So during a tornado warning last Sunday I lovingly unwrapped all my china and placed it in one of my top cabinet shelves. It fits perfect! I’m not sure how often I’ll use it but it is nice to know that should I ever feel like celebrating and hand washing every single dish, I can do so.

I really like the china. It’s feminine and pretty. Something really funny to me is the difference in size in plates now and 60 years ago. That’s my current dishware on the right. I can imagine how skinny I’d be…

I hope now that it’s accessible I use this china every now and then. It’s a not only beautiful to look at but it’s a beautiful reminder of my grandmother and the legacy of women I come from. I’m not sure if she would approve of eating leftover pizza on it, but I’m sure Jesus won’t tell her 😉